Post Game Quote Sheet: U.S. MNT vs. Chile

MNTJan 22, 2011

U.S. Head Coach Bob BRADLEY On the game at the conclusion of January camp: “From the start of this camp we talked about how international games are faster so our movement needs to be better and things need to be cleaner. For the past few weeks we tried to establish an idea of what that's like and today that's exactly what we got. We had seven guys get their first cap tonight, so that's always positive. When you have a young group of guys in camp, at the end of everything you want to put it to the test and it gives you a good picture of where these guys are, and I think that part was excellent.”

On what the staff sees from this game: “As a coaching staff we were just saying that we are starting to get to know these guys, and for the most part we saw a lot of what we know. When you talk about positives, for example we know that Zach Loyd is a very good competitor, so playing left back his pure ability to compete on plays in that part of the field and everything I thought was excellent. You see it in training, but now it gets put to the test and it’s great when it comes out during the game.”

On the play of Agudelo and Bunbury: “Today they both did come on the field and give us a good lift. We had, prior to that, played along the lines of 4-2-3-1 with Mikkel Diskerud having a little bit of a free role and I think it was a good change at that point to give it a good look. They both seem to find good spots in terms of holding on to balls but also coming underneath, and as you work with these young guys in camp you see the potential. There still are little things that need a lot of work. A lot has to happen quickly for both of them. Hopefully we can keep moving them in the right direction.”

U.S. Midfielder and captain DAX MCCARTYOn the team coming behind to get a result: “The World Cup team all the way down through multiple players on this team have a lot of character, and that comes from the coaching staff. We didn’t put our heads down. Even before their goal I thought that we definitely had the run of play, and we certainly created a lot more attacking opportunities going forward. It was one thing when they scored on pretty much their only chance of the half, but it’s another thing to have the heart and desire to want to come back and get a result and we did that. In the end it was a fair result, but you wouldn’t have argued with us getting a winner.”

On his roles in the match: “Bob gave me a little bit more freedom to kind of express myself going forward a little bit more. Certainly in the first half, Chile had a little bit more possession than us, so I was trying to stay a little bit more disciplined defensively. In the second half we really wanted to try to push the game, push the tempo a little bit, and I was trying to get more involved in the attack and connect a little bit more with the forwards and play more underneath (them).”

U.S. Defender and Budweiser Man of the Match ZACH LOYDOn the game: “I felt it went well. In the first half they were definitely pushing the tempo, but I think in the second half we made a few subs and they brought a lot of energy and we pressed them the remainder of the second half.”

On the speed of the game: “The first five to 10 minutes it’s really fast. It was my first cap, and I was all excited and after that you just get relaxed and your teammates are always talking to you and giving you confidence along the way. I’m thankful that I had the guys around me that I did tonight, and hopefully I can continue to go forward.”

U.S. Forward TEAL BUNBURY On what he tried to do when he came into the game: “They were just telling us to go in there and try to make an impact. I was feeling confident going into the game. They were trying to pressure us and really go forward. I felt like as a team we did really well to attack and take advantage of what they were giving us. I knew that I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make an impact. I feel like everyone stepped it up in the second half.”

On his chemistry with Agudelo: “I don’t know about him, but I feel really comfortable playing up top with him. I feel like our chemistry is really growing and I’m just looking forward to more games with him and we’ll go from there.”

U.S. Defender OMAR GONZALEZOn his start at The Home Depot Center and the game: “First and foremost it was definitely an honor to be playing with the national team tonight. Second, it was a fun game. The first half was so much fun and getting to see all of the new, young guys out there was fun for me and hopefully it was fun for everyone else. I thought that we did well. We wanted to win, but a draw is a good result so all in all I think that everyone did a good job.”

U.S. Midfielder MIXX DISKERUD On the play of Agudelo and Bunbury: “It’s fun to play with those guys. We’ve been hanging out together here in California so we have a good connection and it shows on the pitch as well.”

On playing with a higher work rate: “It’s something that the coaches wanted me to work on and I wanted to show that I could do that as well, so maybe it was a little bit more working than flair today. That’s no problem when we get the result. It’s not what we were hoping for, but that in the end was OK.”

On the flow of the game: “The more the game went on in the first half, we started combining a little bit better. [Chile] had a weird style of playing soccer. I haven’t been through a system like that, so it takes sometime to get used to that. As time went on, I think we got a little bit more comfortable with it. In the second half after they scored a goal, I think that pissed off everybody so we gave it our all. We started pressuring them and that was when the game changed.”